Tuesday, April 30, 2013

It’s hard to
believe the A – Z Challenge is finishing up today. I’ve had a grand time
sharing so many flowers with all of you, many that I will use as guidelines for
future projects, so please stay tuned. Your comments have energized me through
this process. My brain is on overload with so many ideas for future projects,
and I love getting your feedback on my work.

Zinnia is my
z post – not my last flower. There were a few others I found while working on
these that I’m excited to design and share with you. Unfortunately all this
flower power has left my twelve months of doilies in the dust.

I’m still
finalizing pattern details for February’s doily. March’s doily is complete with
no tutorial page – handwritten page, yes, tutorial for site, no. April – well,
it simply didn’t happen. To that end, I have decided to spend my summer making
doilies. This likely means I won’t be posting every day. Doilies take time to
do them right, and finalizing patterns takes even more time. It hit 100 degrees
F here this past weekend, so while some of you are still buried in snow, summer
has arrived for me – too hot to spend hours outside. Doily days are upon us…once
my oldest daughter graduates from college next month, that is.

Onto our
Zinnia Pattern now…Thank you all for an amazing A – Z Challenge this year!

Step 2: Chain 5; half double crochet in 2nd
chain from hook and in each chain; hdc in sc; sc in next chain on foundation
chain

[Repeat Step
2 for each chain in foundation chain]

Note: Petals will naturally create a spiral as you
work.

Step 3: Yarn over; insert hook from bottom of spiral
through each layer of center; yarn over, pull loop back through bottom of
flower and finish off. This will secure all layers of the flower together.

Step 4: String 1 dark bead and 1 light bead on end of
dark pipe cleaner & secure for flower center; fold bottom of pipe cleaner
up and twist securely under beads; insert through top center of flower and all
layers

Step 5: Take green pipe cleaner and secure at base of
flower, spiraling it down around dark pipe cleaner and loose ends of yarn to
finish stem.

All patterns for A – Z Challenge 2013
are originals designed and created by me, so please abide by all copyright
laws. However, you are more than welcome to link to my work. In fact, I would
very much appreciate it if you do. Thank you!

Monday, April 29, 2013

Yucca is a
desert plant and the flowers are positively gorgeous! My instructions for
making the yucca plant are general. You can make yours any size, by using
materials dependent upon your needs and desires. The yucca plant pictured is a
small plant. I used 6 inch pieces of pipe cleaner for the flower strands. These
worked well for the Cup of Leaves I made to go with this post.

I used a
baby soft cream colored yarn and a size G hook. I also used branch colored pipe
cleaner, because the color closely resembles the yucca plants in my own
neighborhood.

All patterns for A – Z Challenge 2013
are originals designed and created by me, so please abide by all copyright
laws. However, you are more than welcome to link to my work. In fact, I would
very much appreciate it if you do. Thank you!

Saturday, April 27, 2013

I have to
say, X is one of my favorite flowers for this challenge. Funny that last year’s X post is also a favorite of mine. This little flower is so bright and
cheerful, plus it’s one of the easiest patterns I’ve made. Of course by the
time I got to X, I was getting pretty good at designing flowers. But still,
this little flower makes me smile and I want to make whole vases full of them,
to brighten up dull spaces in my home and bring a little sunshine to
inconspicuous corners.

I used
yellow embroidery floss, green pipe cleaner and a two-holed yellow button to
make my flower.

Step 1: Chain 2, make 6 single crochet in 2nd
chain from hook

Step 2: Single crochet in same place and in each
single crochet around; join with slip stitch to 1st single crochet

Step 3: Chain 4, single crochet in 2nd
chain from hook and in each chain back to single crochet; slip stitch in sc in
center.

[Repeat Step
3 once in same place and twice in each single crochet around, joining with slip
stitch to 1st stitch in round]

Finish off.

Step 4: Insert pipe cleaner from bottom through top
of flower. Weave pipe cleaner through a yellow two-holed button and back
through base of flower, pulling it securely into place.

Step 5: Use short end of pipe cleaner to wrap around
loose threads; trim loose ends and pull tips of flower petals out to separate
them. Steam and starch if desired

All patterns for A – Z Challenge 2013
are originals designed and created by me, so please abide by all copyright
laws. However, you are more than welcome to link to my work. In fact, I would
very much appreciate it if you do. Thank you!

Friday, April 26, 2013

When it came
to preparing my W post, I couldn’t help but start humming a song from way back
when, Windflowers. Once that happened there was no stopping me, as I curiously
started looking for pictures to see if I could design and make one. Turns out,
they’re not that difficult to make at all. I used 4-ply cotton white yarn, a
small yellow bead and yellow embroidery floss for the center and green pipe
cleaner for the stem.

Step 4: Make 1 triple in each of the next 3 chain;
double crochet in next chain and half double crochet in single crochet

Step 5: Single crochet in next chain of foundation
chain; chain 7

[Repeat
Steps 3 – 5 for each chain on foundation chain; Repeat Steps 3 & 4 one more
time to make last petal, so you have 6 petals.]

Step 6: Skip 3 petals and slip stitch into sc of 4th
petal, so that petals overlap; make 1 more slip stitch into 1st
petal underneath to secure; fasten off

Step 7: Take a piece of 6-strand (yellow) embroidery
thread and thread 1 end through bead, knotting securely at top, leaving a long
tail for stamen

Step 8: Use crochet hook to draw bottom tail of yellow
thread through base of flower, centering bead in top of flower

Step 9: Take 1 green piece of pipe cleaner; poke
through bottom of flower and secure directly under bead

Step
10: Wrap 2nd piece of green
pipe cleaner around loose yarn and thread, as you wrap it around 1st
piece of pipe cleaner

Step
11: Trim top of thread and fluff out
ends in center of flower

All patterns for A – Z Challenge 2013
are originals designed and created by me, so please abide by all copyright
laws. However, you are more than welcome to link to my work. In fact, I would
very much appreciate it if you do. Thank you!

Thursday, April 25, 2013

More than
ten years ago, when we were living in another house, another city, we had
vincas displaying beautifully in our front yard. They were pretty pastel purples
and pinks, delicate salmons and various shades of creams and white. Their
blooms never seem to fade, regardless of the extreme heat in summer. They were
drought hearty and thrived in almost any weather condition.

You Will
Need

Crochet yarn
and hook – I used 4-ply cotton yarn and a size D hook

Yarn needle
+ yarn for sewing

Stem colored
pipe cleaner

Button or
bead – I used a little round yellow button

Petals – Make
5

Foundation: Chain 8; single crochet in 2nd chain
from hook and in each chain across

Step 1: Chain 2, sc in each stitch across row

Step 2: Turn, sc in 1st stitch and in each
stitch across row

Step 3: Chain 1, turn; make 1 sc in turning chain;
make 1 sc in each stitch across row, except the very last stitch; slip stitch
in the last stitch of the row

Step 4: Turn; slip stitch in 2nd stitch
from hook; single crochet in each of next 5 stitches, make 2 sc in next stitch

Take yarn
needle with sewing yarn and sew center of flower together with a straight
stitch, working your way over and under around the center of the flower (2 times)
to secure petals together. Finish off. Weave in loose ends.

Next, using
threaded yarn needle, start half way up 1st petal and whip stitch to
center; then work your way up next petal in same way, securing loose ends
behind stitches as you work.

[Repeat for
all petals.]

Do not
finish off last petal. Instead, continue and sew round button or bead to flower
center.

Wind piece
of stem colored pipe cleaner around your finger to make stem. Attach to back
center of flower.

All patterns for A – Z Challenge 2013
are originals designed and created by me, so please abide by all copyright
laws. However, you are more than welcome to link to my work. In fact, I would
very much appreciate it if you do. Thank you!

Wednesday, April 24, 2013

Uva-ursi is
best known for its berries. Consequently, not many flower blooms see the light
of day. It is a flower shrub, with pinkish-red berries that are used for
homeopathic and medicinal purposes. As a shrub, its stems are short. You can
use floral foam to make a beautiful uva-ursi plant. Simply cover the floral
foam in decorative leaves like this broad leaf crochet pattern and add pretty uva-ursi flowers to
accent your new crocheted plant.

Step 3: Insert pipe cleaner through bottom of flower;
place light pink bead or shell fragment over white end of pipe cleaner,
securing by folding it over the bead

Step 4: Fold pipe cleaner up to make shorter stem,
twisting it together and leaving a few inches of a tail

Step 5: Take (excess) tail end of pipe cleaner and
wrap around base of flower petals securely; open petals to show bloom.

All patterns for A – Z Challenge 2013
are originals designed and created by me, so please abide by all copyright
laws. However, you are more than welcome to link to my work. In fact, I would
very much appreciate it if you do. Thank you!

Tuesday, April 23, 2013

Tulips are
one of my favorite flowers. I only wish their bloom lasted a little longer
here. Still, I keep a few in my yard for pleasure, along with hyacinth,
daffodils and hollyhocks. I used a light-weight baby yarn for my tulip pattern
and a small hook. The yarn reminded me of a few of my blooms this year. I’ll be
making more tulips, experimenting with materials to vary the result. As no two
blooms are exactly alike, I’m sure it will be a fun and worthy activity.

Step
10: Take 5 matching pieces of 12 inch
pipe cleaner, one for each petal, and insert from bottom center of flower,
about half way; weave pipe cleaner around each petal to shape its edge,
allowing you to fold petals up into a cup shape, and ending with pipe cleaner
at bottom center of flower.

Note: This is by no means an exact science. If you
find it easier to use one piece of pipe cleaner at a time, do it. Also, how you
weave pipe cleaner through each petal can vary, which will make your petals
unique and different too, just as they are in the garden.

Step
11: Mold and shape petals

Step
12: Take a dark button or bead and one
12 inch piece of yellow pipe cleaner; insert it through button or bead, leaving
a small loop; take 3 short pieces of pipe cleaner and twist at top of button to
make stamen

Step
13: Insert yellow pipe cleaner through
top center of flower and pull down. Trim stamen as desired and fluff it out

All patterns for A – Z Challenge 2013
are originals designed and created by me, so please abide by all copyright
laws. However, you are more than welcome to link to my work. In fact, I would
very much appreciate it if you do. Thank you!

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About Me

I'm a free spirit, filled with creative energy! I enjoy doing many things, including gardening, sports, crafts, cooking, to name a few. For relaxation, I prefer to hang by a water source like the ocean, a river or lake, something like that. I also really enjoy getting lost in a good book, and of course, writing...sometimes nonstop...

Blog Synopsis

If you spent your entire life trying, chances are you will never be able to learn every crochet stitch, or combination of stitches ever created. This blog will be my attempt to share as many different crochet stitches and stitch patterns as possible with you. I absolutely love crochet, and I have a blast playing with my yarn, hooks, beads and ideas.

Let's have fun with this, and make some neat things while we're at it. And Remember, you can always click (CTRL P) to print instructions and patterns from this blog.

Copyright Notice

All Rights Reserved. All work shared on this site is for personal enjoyment and use. You may not copy, redistribute or otherwise used information from this site for personal gain or monetary recompense, without direct written consent from its creator, producer and author, Teresa DePoy – aka, M. J. Joachim. Intellectual property rights apply.

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